Rust prevention

Good idea Coletrain27.

My mechanic also mentioned that washing too frequently in the winter can do more harm than good as it can force water and salt into small spaces where it ends up getting trapped.

We have a customer that swears by fluid film and from the few times I have worked on his vehicles it seems to be working good. Other option is move somewhere that doesn’t use road chemicals. I just worked on a 99 Tahoe from Washington state that didn’t have a spot of rust on the body panels and everything came apart nicely. It was sure an eye opener seeing what vehicles could look like if we could find another way to keep our roads clear in the winter without harsh chemicals.

I have used fluid film, nhou undercoating and woolwax. Fluid film is the thinnest and strongest smelling but available at O’Reilly’s in spray cans makes it the most convenient. Nhou is thicker and has a better creep and less smell but will wash off like fluid film with tire spray. Woolwax has the creep but doesn’t wash off with road spray and I didn’t even have to touch it up this spring. I got spray guns with cavity hoses and pulled door panels and flushed all the dirt from all cavities and known rust points. I got a rust free 03 Tahoe in may 2020 and and it’s my daily driver. After 3 Minnesota winters it has less rust than a new vehicle that hasn’t seen a winter yet. I’m a mechanic so I ues the hoist and air compressor at work. You can buy the better guns and a couple gallons of the stuff for 2-$300 and it keeps bolts from rusting up too.

For those that use fluid film do you have to spray right when you buy the vehicle. My truck is 3 years old. I’ve read some people say using fluid film at this point is just going to lock in the chemicals already on your frame from driving the last 3 years. Trying to figure out if it’s a good idea to start using it now or if it’s too late

crappie55369 wrote:

For those that use fluid film do you have to spray right when you buy the vehicle. My truck is 3 years old. I’ve read some people say using fluid film at this point is just going to lock in the chemicals already on your frame from driving the last 3 years. Trying to figure out if it’s a good idea to start using it now or if it’s too late

Wash the underneath of your truck well, and then it’ll be good to go.

A buddy of mine and I go in on a 5 gallon bucket and use a actual paint sprayer to apply the fluid film. That way our under bodies are coated heavily. He has a lift in the garage and it works nice. I also coat my brush guard and running boards underside with it and all connecting hardware

I tried fluid film on our ice house around the axles and winches; all it did was attract dust and it still rusted;

my 2013 f150 rear fenders started to rust and bubble, i sanded down all the loose rust/bubbles, cleaned it, and used POR15 to seal down the rust and inside the fenders and hid them with oem flares

Does fluid film work to stop rust from spreading or just preventing it from starting? Thinking of my sons truck has rust in the typical areas and Id like to at least slow it down.

CaptainMusky wrote:

Does fluid film work to stop rust from spreading or just preventing it from starting? Thinking of my sons truck has rust in the typical areas and Id like to at least slow it down.

it does not stop rusting. it just slows it down

Rodwork wrote:

The frame damage post got me thinking about rust prevention. Wondering what people are using and spraying with. DIY or over the counter. Saw a post about mixing used oil and diesel fuel 50/50. I remember a post on a different thread about using Fluid Film. What are you using to prevent vehicle rust?

I know farmers that used to do this. Kept their equipment in good shape for lots of years. This said, the combines etc, did not get any salt from the roads.

I just bought a new to me Chevy 1500 Trail Boss that’s essentially 100% rust free. The frame doesn’t even have surface rust at this point. For a 2019 I question whether the previous owner ever drove it in the winter. I’m seriously considering treating it with Fluid Film or the PB equivalent to keep it this way as long as possible, but I’m curious how nasty of a mess I will have if I drive gravel roads on a regular basis. Will the under side of the truck be completely caked in gravel dust, and will that be an issue? Any insight would be appreciated.

Hillhiker does this truck have the wheel liners in it? If not that is the first thing I would do. Not only does it make it much quieter on gravel roads, but it really protects inside the wheel well from rusting. I have no experience with those products though so no help there.

CaptainMusky wrote:

Hillhiker does this truck have the wheel liners in it? If not that is the first thing I would do. Not only does it make it much quieter on gravel roads, but it really protects inside the wheel well from rusting. I have no experience with those products though so no help there.

It does not have the wheel liners now, but I’ll either install them or maybe do bed liner in the wheel wells for some protection while still being easy to wash. I plan to keep this truck for a long time, so I’d like to prolong the slow death from rust my old truck succumbed to. I’m just trying to decide if these coatings are a good idea in my case or if being good about washing the truck is a better option. FYI I do have a company truck as well that I put most miles on. My personnel truck is for weekends/hunting/fishing type use and the occasion road trip. The new truck is probably nicer than I should have bought, but the deal was too good to pass up for a spotless low mileage truck.

CaptainMusky wrote:

Hillhiker does this truck have the wheel liners in it? If not that is the first thing I would do. Not only does it make it much quieter on gravel roads, but it really protects inside the wheel well from rusting. I have no experience with those products though so no help there.

I actually took my wheel liners off. I found that dust and grit would make it up on top of the liner and with road vibrations was acting like a sander. I have been running fluid film and no liners for almost 10 years and no rust so far.

hillhiker wrote:

I just bought a new to me Chevy 1500 Trail Boss that’s essentially 100% rust free. The frame doesn’t even have surface rust at this point. For a 2019 I question whether the previous owner ever drove it in the winter. I’m seriously considering treating it with Fluid Film or the PB equivalent to keep it this way as long as possible, but I’m curious how nasty of a mess I will have if I drive gravel roads on a regular basis. Will the under side of the truck be completely caked in gravel dust, and will that be an issue? Any insight would be appreciated.

I only spray the rocker panels, cab corners and wheel wells. If you spray the frame, the dust will only build up slightly thicker that what is initially sprayed on.

thalwag, I had the exact concern with liners you mentioned. I was considering what you’re doing, only spray the body parts. Having tons of dirt clinging to moving parts under the truck seems like it could cause it’s own issues.

I spray my 2015 F150 sense new and people think its a 2021 because after 80k there is no rust. Frame looks new. I touch up 1 can a year. Original coat was 4 or 5 cans. DO IT…………

Car washes, in most cases, recycle water and there’s no feasible way to de-salinate it. You can just ask at the counter if they recycle, chances are yes. Not saying don’t get car washes… but you’re pressure spraying liquid salt all over your vehicle so don’t expect it to prevent the inevitable.

A class action suit against the state government would be a great start, IMO. The salt consumption in the twin cities increases exponentially year over year, meanwhile they also say global warming is getting rid of winter. A certain MN-based company owns and sells nearly every grain of salt in the USA, that would be the reason for the excessive salt usage every year.

thalweg87 wrote:

I actually took my wheel liners off. I found that dust and grit would make it up on top of the liner and with road vibrations was acting like a sander. I have been running fluid film and no liners for almost 10 years and no rust so far.

I remove mine and power wash them every spring or summer. Those felt liners GM uses (and others?) are salt magnets, the inside of them is always caked in white crust. Even still, I’m just starting to see paint bubbles on my box side, 2016 silverado. My 2010 had through holes on both sides when I sold it with 254k on the clock. I wish it weren’t so, but I just accept the eventual rust now and don’t put forth a huge amount of effort outside of washing the liners annually and spraying some fluid film in certain areas.

KPE wrote:

A certain MN-based company owns and sells nearly every grain of salt in the USA, that would be the reason for the excessive salt usage every year.

I think it has more to do with a government budget. As if you don’t use the money you received last year, you will receive less this year.
I agree. We use too much salt.